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Questions and Responses have been reproduced verbatim.
Listen to thisDiscussion raised again April 2002 ... see Touch
A question on the issue of "touch" once again. I
was wondering how people felt about the residential treatment homes that
have a no-touch policy – what about the children who are suffering from
attachment disorder. How do we ensure that they are getting the quality of
care from us that they never received while at home? How do we teach them to
have a healthy caring relationship if touch is not an option for us as an
intervention? If someone could write back to me and tell me how to do this
that would be great.
Thanx
Kim
...
There is no question that touching is a basic biological need. When infants
are denied touching, they die – as they did by the thousands in the
foundling homes of the 19th century. This is a condition known as "maramus" – from the Greek, meaning "wasting away". The need to be touched does not
diminish with age. Having run a residential center for many years, I realize
some of the difficulties involved but, one way or another, touching is
essential to the ongoing growth and development of the residents. There are
many ways to do it.
Gerry Fewster
...
Dear Kim,
Congratulations to you for asking such an astute question. I am holding that
institutions which have a no-touch policy are CHILD ABUSING. They should be
reported to the licensing authorities of their particular mental health
district. Professionals within that particular community should raise their
sincere objections to such lack of caring policies within their respective
communities. As I have stated earlier, to touch children is neither bad nor
good: touch is a process of human interaction. Good luck for your valid
struggle. Please keep me informed of your courageously speaking up.
Sincerely yours,
Henry W. Maier,
PhD., Professor Emeritus
...
Hi Kim – this touching issue is one that is very delicate and somewhat
controversial. Thom Garfat wrote an editorial in the
Journal of
Child and Youth Care, Vol 12, No 3, (1998). I would suggest you get the article
and have all your staff read it as it is critical to establish environments
where touching is okay and this is what the article addresses.
As Thom states, "We back away from youth and withhold the most basic human
experience, the experience of being touched by another person." I hope and
pray that people working with our youth stop this insanity of a "no touch
policy" and rethink what their purpose of caring for troubled youth is
really about. Certainly it is not about depriving them of this most basic
and critical need ...
M Kingsmith
...
I think we need to think about where the "no touching" policies came from.
They were not introduced with any therapeutic intention. They were
introduced to protect staff and agencies from allegations. My sense is that
while we can't ignore the potential for allegations, the "no touch" policies
throw the baby out with the bath water. You might want to look at Thom
Garfat's article On the Fear of Contact, the Need for Touch, and
Creating Youth Care Contexts Where Touching is Okay. It is an
interesting dilemma, trying to establish relationship while declaring
someone untouchable!
Doug Estergaard
...
I work in a residential treatment centre with a no-touch policy. The reason
our no-touch rule is in place is the majority of our clientele are dealing
with serious issues over sexually offending against others and /or being
offended against themselves. As a treatment facility to keep our clientele
and staff safe from allegations we have chosen this rule. Keep in mind that
we are treatment and the client once they are done with our program will
likely be moving on to a more normalized placement in which there are fewer
boundaries and rules.
Even though the no touch rule is in place our staff still do handshakes,
high fives, pats on the shoulder and hair tussles on a regular basis. We
just draw the line when it comes to hugs and wrestling. As for attachment
disorder, I have been researching this and so far have found the kids with
attachment disorder have never been successfully treated in residential
treatment programs as their are too many rotating staff and no primary
caregiver to act in the father/mother role.
Rainbow Wilderness Adventures
...
I have heard of this no-touch policy in many agencies, and I don't agree
with it, but it's got to be worked around some how right? I was thinking:
Typically, the reason why we touch others is to feel close to them. So, try
to find ways in which you can teach these children/youth to meet their needs
of being close to others without the use of touch. Some sort of a messaging
program where the kids are taught how to compliment others effectively (eg.
You are really nice BECAUSE ...) and everyone gets a message each day or
every-other day and this will also raise their self esteem by giving and
recieving non-verbal affection.
One thing I would like to add is that if you do have a no-touch policy, all
staff MUST make sure, I feel, to NOT teach these kids that touch is bad, but
explain to them the reasons for the no-touch policy and that it's NOT
because of them. Lots of kids that we work with suffer from attachment and
self-esteem problems, and for us as child care providers to tense up or
scold whenever we are touched or accidentally touch, this will inadvertently
teach these kids that touch is bad.
Hope this helps!
Charlene Mauger
...
How can we be in relationship with a no touch policy?? What a sad world we
live in that Youth Care Workers feel a need to protect themselves from
possible allegations that they put in place such a policy?? I am assuming of
course that this was the intent of the policy? I am a very nurturing and yes
touchy youth care worker. After many years in the field I have learned to
gauge when to touch and am careful to ask if it is o.k. if I am unsure.
Again I am assuming that touch means a hug, an arm around or simply a touch
on the hand or shoulder.I am currently working with a 17 year old female
who has been with us for over a year. I actually playfully chase her in an
attempt to touch. This is a young woman who although protests, is also like
a child whom has never been shown affection, and it is obvious to all that
she enjoys such attention. I have also encountered many youth care workers
for whom touch has not played a part in their familial relationships and
describe their experiences as unfortunate. That is until they met me, ha,ha.
It is my belief that those afraid to touch in a therapeutic way need to
reconsider their choice of career.
Debbie Carver
...
I finally had to make a response to the issue of touch in our work with
children that illustrates both the importance of safe touch with children
and youth and the lengths to which youth may go to have that need met. A
number of years ago, when I still worked in residential care, a young teen
was admitted to the program. She was a physically aggressive, a runner, a
drug user and we suspected had been physically and or sexually abused. Our
inititial time together was very chaotic, and stressful as we had to
physically restrain this girl for her safety and the safety of others on a
fairly regular basis, (almost daily). An interesting thing began to happen
though as the relationship developed and the youth began to feel safe in the
environment, both the frequency and duration of her acting out behaviours
and the need for restraint decreased. We as a staff also discovered that as
the relationship developed and she felt safer, her need for physical touch
remained but the type of touch needed changed from full restraints to a
gentle, reassuring touch on the shoulder from a staff person as she was
greeted at the beginning of the shift.
One of the most powerful things we can teach children and youth is what safe
touch is about.
Varley Weisman
...
For some people their own body is sacred and out of respect for each
person's body and spirit, I believe permission whether verbal or non-verbal
should be given by the client to be touched first.
Tracy Robinson
...
Greetings
The issue of touch is a very interesting topic. I work with young and older
girls on a part-time basis. The contact between us is both verbal and
physical. What is meant by the term physical is touch or a hug. At times we
work with children that have never experienced physical contact. When a
youth is having great difficulty and has stepped temporarily off the path,
after each intervention session a hug is given to give reassurance. One
major factor that needs to be considered. Young persons that have been
placed due to sexual abuse, a hug can transmit a wrong message. We as
persons require a touch at times or a hug just to reassure us that we are
alive and well.
Kaz
...
In my work guiding children, youth and adults to develop inclusive
leadership skills for exploring diversity, the skill of "touch control"
(knowing when and how to touch without being rough or otherwise making
others feel uncomfortable or unsafe) is one of the top twenty skills
covered.
Touch and other aspects of physical boundaries is also a huge diversity
issue to explore. There are huge differences between cultures, families,
ages, status, and other identity groups in the meaning of and rules about
touch, body language, physical proximity, eye contact and all aspects of
nonverbal communication. When children, youth and adults from diverse
backgrounds are coming together in any setting it is important to establish
clear expectations for body language and physical boundaries – including
rules about touch – in that particular setting and also explore similarities
and differences in the expectations and rules (i.e. cultural baggage) that
each individual comes in with. Respect for each other's different body
languages is as important as respect for each other's different verbal
languages and other aspects of our backgrounds. Learning about touch is a
huge set of skills and values. Children, youth, and adults who have been
physically and sexually abused have – by the very definition of these two
types of abuses – had their learnings about touch very badly disrupted and
so re-teaching appropriate touch and appropriate interpretation of touch is
a very important part of our responsibility in working with children and
youth.
It is also super important to do a great deal of self exploration about what
I use touch for and what I am communicating/teaching about human
relationships when I touch another person or ask another person to touch me
in any way.
Hopefully this particular discussion is leading each of us to reflect more
deeply on our own touch communication, touch control, values about touch,
boundaries, and baggage about touch that we are each carrying around with us
as part of our diverse life experiences.
Linda Hill
